One to Watch...

With a thumb injury expected to keep
Stevie Thomas out of the lineup,
WR/LB Lawrence Samuels may see
all the snaps at the receiver/jill LB position. Photo by Chris
Arnold.

Kicking Off...

The first round of the 1997 Arena Football League playoffs concludes with
a Music City showdown between the Storm and the Kats. Nashville enters
the game on a tear, having gone 7-1 since starting their first season
with a 3-3 mark. Tampa Bay also comes in with momentum, having won four
of their last five including an impressive 58-34 mauling of San Jose last
weekend. The last two weeks have been costly for the Storm, though, as in
that time, Tracey Perkins,
Stevie Thomas,
Willie Wyatt,
Tracy Sanders and
Wayne Walker have all suffered
injuries.

Kats to Watch...

WR/DB Darryl Hammond - In spite of being one of the best
two-way players in league history, he has bounced around the league like a
journeyman, going from Albany to St. Louis to the Kats after the Stampede
folded following the 1996 season. However, he has posted some impressive
stats along the way, as he is the league's active leader in tackles with
317 and ranks ninth in receceptions with 253 and 11th in receiving yardage
with 2,982. Known mostly as a defensive player during his four years in
Albany, he busted out offensively during his two years in St. Louis,
catching 154 passes for 1,839 yards and 28 touchdowns. Hammond's new venue
hasn't affected his play; he ranks second on the Kats in receptions (50)
and receiving yardage (607), had two interceptions and was second on the
team with 49 tackles.

QB Andy Kelly - Die-hard Arena Football fans might
remember Kelly from his 1993 stint with the Charlotte Rage. But the reason
he's the Kats' signal-caller is because fans in Tennessee remember his
1988-91 stint at the University of Tennessee. In those circles, he's best
remembered for leading the Volunteers to a win at Notre Dame in his senior
season. As a result, the Kats made him the top pick in the expansion draft
last November. Kelly played for the Rhein Fire of the World League for the
better part of the last two seasons, but found time to play six games for
the Rage in 1995 and in parts of three games in 1996. Combined with his
1993 stint, he played in 22 games with the Rage and when the team folded
after the 1996 season, the final stats showed Kelly as the franchise
leader in passing yardage, attempts, completions and touchdown passes.
In addition, the Rage's only non-losing season, a 6-6 campaign, came in
1993, the only season Kelly started all of Charlotte's games. So perhaps
his performance this season shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Kelly's
113.8 passer rating was fifth in the league. He finshed third in the
league in passing yardage (3,821), third in completions (309) and first
in touchdowns with an astounding 82. That touchdown mark was just two off
the league record set by Mike Perez in Albany last season. In addition,
Kelly holds a respectable 1-2 mark against the Storm, adding in the Kats'
loss to the Storm on May 23 and the split of the Charlotte-Tampa Bay
series in 1993. Tampa Bay hammered the Rage 52-19 in the team's first
1993 meeting (6/5/93), but in the rematch in Charlotte on July 9, the
Rage stunned the Storm, 40-38. Kelly was named MVP of that game as he
completed 20 of 42 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns.

WR/LB Cory Fleming - As with Kelly, he was drafted by
the Kats due to his marquee value as a former UT Volunteer. However, the
former Dallas Cowboy has proved that he can be an outstanding player in
this league, regardless of where he went to college. Fleming did not
become the team's No. 1 receiver until OS Khevin Pratt left for the NFL
after Week Six. Since, he has turned into a force. Fleming led the Kats
and finished ninth in the league with 89 receptions for 1,104 yards. His
32 receiving touchdowns were bested only by Eddie Brown's 35 for Albany.
Perhaps the only difficulty Fleming might have been forced to endure in
Arenaball would be on defense, as he was a receiver by trade before
joining the league. However, he finished sevemth on the team in tackles
with 23 and was third on the Kats with three interceptions from his jill
linebacker spot. "He's playing at a high level now," Storm coach Tim
Marcum said.

Noting the Kats...

Former Storm QB Jay Gruden, the best
quarterback in the history of Arena Football, now directs from the
sidelines as Nashville's offensive coordinator. Photo by Chris
Davis.

Gruden Redux - When Jay Gruden retired from the Tampa Bay
Storm last fall, the announcment sent shock waves throughout the league.
Sure, he'd taken a pounding in six Arena League seasons, but he still
remained in the prime of his career at 29. Even in just six years, he
managed to put up mind-boggling numbers. Gruden left as the league's
all-time leader in passing yardage (15,514), attempts (1,983), completions
(1,182) and passing touchdowns (280). He started all but two of the
Storm's 94 games over the years. But he didn't retire to a life of golf,
Cadillacs and writing letters to the editor full-time; rather, he followed
a family tradition paved by his father and brother and went into coaching
as the Kats' offensive coordinator. While it's only his first coaching
job, he seems to be growing quickly into the role. The Kats ranked fourth in
total offense with 285.2 yards per game, third in scoring offense with
52.9 points per game, fourth in passing offense with 268.4 yards per game
and second in first downs with 251.

Tampa Bay/Nashville Connections - Kats offensive
coordinator Jay Gruden set all of Tampa Bay's passing records in his six
seasons with the Storm (1991-96)...Offensive coordinator Pat Sperduto won
three championship rings in five years with the Storm, playing for three
seasons (1991-93) and coaching as an assistant for two (1994-95)...General
Manager Billy McGehee served with the Storm as Director of Marketing and
Sponsorship from 1993 to 1995...Vice President of Communications Denny
Petro was the Storm's public address announcer and weekly radio show host
in 1995...Kicker Jorge Cimadevilla booted for two seasons with the Storm
(1995-96)...OL/DL Joe March played a prominent role on the lines, helping
the team to three championships in four seasons (1993-96)...OL/DL Willie
Fears, who is on injured reserve, played for the Storm last season...Coach
Eddie Khayat served as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive line coach in
1992 and 1993...OS Lonnie Turner was the Storm's No. 3 receiver in 1996.

Noting the Storm...

Statistically Speaking - Tampa Bay ended the season
tops in the league in total defense, allowing just 209.7 yards per game.
The Storm also finished first in passing defense, allowing 188.1 yards per
contest...After being dead last in the league in turnover margin for much
of the season, the Storm ended the season 11th with a minus-seven
margin...The Storm scored 39.1 points per game, good for 10th in the
league, while they gave up 37.2 points per game, second best in the
AFL...The Storm had the fifth-fewest penalties in the league this season,
being whistled 118 times for 521 yards' worth of march-offs...Tampa Bay
ran for 27.2 yards per game, fifth in the league...OS
George LaFrance finshed first
in the league in all purpose yardage with 166.5 yards per game.

Injury Front - The scourge of the Storm, who are the
most banged up team in the league. For more info, check out
Joe Kauffman's article detailing
the various bumps and bruises suffered by Storm players.

From the Mouth of Marcum...

On the Injuries and Roster Moves..."We don't have to
officially announce our deactives until one hour before kickoff. With our
injured guys, it will probably be a decision made then whether they're
going to play or not."

On the QB Situation... - "P.T.'s our guy. We wanted to
get Ron Adams some work [against San Jose] and we didn't want to get P.T.
hurt."

On Nashville's Defense... - "They run a lot of different
packages that we need to be prepared for. Against Milwaukee, they ran a
zone; against Orlando, they ran a man coverage scheme."

Series History...

The Storm and Kats met earlier this season, with the Storm defeating
Nashville 42-26. For information on the game, check out
our coverage.